A portion of the students nodded in agreement, feeling that the singing had been perfectly fine and that there was no reason to stop them so abruptly.
Liu Xuanru, not expecting so many people to side with Shang Qing, tried to maintain his composure and insisted, "I—I just felt that some students weren't singing seriously. Everyone wasn't putting in enough effort; you could have been much more passionate, which is why I called a stop to it."
Shang Qing had sung as loudly as she did because she was moved by how hard her classmates were working. Now, hearing Liu Xuanru’s excuse, she was the first to object: "Oh? Not serious? Not enough passion? What exactly do you mean by 'serious' and 'passionate'? Everyone’s voice was nearly hoarse just now—is that not passionate enough for you?"
Chapter 289